The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, one of the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore is one of the recipients of the Architectural Heritage Award. (Photo: URA)
In recognition for the high standard of restoration work done, two buildings received the Architectural Heritage Awards from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Tuesday (31 October 2017).
Among them is Singapore’s oldest Catholic Church, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in A Queen Street that has been meticulously restored and successfully rejuvenated with the help of an archaeologist, a pipe organ restorer and a stained glass restorer.
“For over 170 years, the passage of time took its toll on the church, both structurally and aesthetically. In this restoration, the team opted for maximum retention to keep the layers of history while bringing the facilities up-to-date,” said the URA.
In fact, the Roman Catholic Church of Singapore hired Architects 61 Pte Ltd and engineering firm ECAS Consultants Pte Ltd for the restoration. The contractor was Shanghai Chong Kee Furniture & Construction Pte Ltd, with conservation specialist Studio Lapis involved in the project as well.
The other award recipient is The Warehouse Hotel along 320 Havelock Road that was originally built as an industrial facility in the 1930s.
For the restoration, property owner I-Hotel Pte Ltd engaged architectural firm Zarch Collaboratives Pte Ltd, engineer company JS Tan Consultants Pte Ltd and contractor Towner Construction Pte Ltd.
With the addition of the two winners in the 23rd year of the Architectural Heritage Awards, there are now a total of 130 projects that have obtained the accolade.
Meanwhile, the awards made special mention of the Red House in 75 East Coast Road that has been transformed into a local café.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
